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Mosquito and tick season off to mild start in Lucas County

Very little rain means less mosquitos and ticks. It also means the risk right now for West Nile Virus is low, because the adult mosquito population is down.

TOLEDO, Ohio — This time of year means nuisance bugs, but a mild start means you shouldn't be too ticked off yet.

Very little rain means mosquito and tick season is quieter than usual so far in Lucas County.

The risk right now for West Nile Virus in our area is low because the adult mosquito population is down, however, the district will soon be screening local mosquitoes for the virus in-house in a lab. 

The Toledo-Area Sanitary District used to ship the mosquitoes to be screened at the Ohio Department of Health, but because of budget cuts, staffing issues or COVID-19, the state has had to scale back testing or do none at all. With an in-house screening lab, the district can get same-day results.

They can also screen ticks for diseases, although the lab doesn't have that capability yet. 

"It allows us to identify if there's a presence of the virus or not but also then target particular areas," said Paul Bauman, the General Manager/Biologist at the Toledo Area Sanitary District. "We have surveillance or trapping locations throughout the county and if one trap location has a positive virus pool, then we might go treat that area to try go knock it down and that's consistently happening throughout the summer."

Bauman believes the in-house disease screening will be up and running in about a week or two.

As a reminder to make sure mosquitoes don't breed around your home:

  • Eliminate any standing water in containers, bird baths or flower pots
  • Keep child pools empty when not being used
  • Make sure all roof gutters are clean and draining properly

There's no community-wide tick control program, so it's all about education.

Do tick checks when you go back inside, wear repellents and long pants, and keep your grass mowed and weeds down.

Along with trapping, spraying and larvae surveillance, the district will be trying an abandoned swimming pool program this season. If someone has an above-ground pool that's neglected that can become a mosquito breeding ground, with the permission of the homeowner, the district can remove the pools and recycle them.

The program is free of charge and is expected to be up and running in about a week or two. 

   

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